What multimeter in the 100$ price range in 2019?

[jtruc34]

Almost everything is in the title.

I also should mention that I'm in Europe and that some MM are pretty hard to find there. And if the shipping is of the same order of magnitude as the multimeter itself, it doesn't really worse it.

I have considered buying the EEVBlog Brymen 235, but the shipping scares me a little.

My use would be the one for typical hobbyist electronics, and I want it to be a least a bit durable as a really don't want to throw it away in 15 years.

Thank you for your replies.

[soren]

Brymen is a popular choice in that price range, and you can have it shipped from Europe:

https://www.welectron.com/Handmultimeter

However, I just spotted a new lower-cost meter from Gossen Metrawatt, which might also be of interest:

https://www.reichelt.de/metraline-dm61-multimeter-digital-6600-counts-metraline-dm61-p253286.html (averaging)
https://www.reichelt.de/digital-multimeter-metraline-dm62-6600-counts-trms-metraline-dm62-p238143.html (TRMS)

[Fungus]

I don't know exact models but I'm betting the manufacturer begins with a 'B' and ends with 'rymen'.

You can buy them directly from brymen.eu and get three years manufacturer's warranty. What's not to like?

[tautech]

Almost everything is in the title.

I also should mention that I'm in Europe and that some MM are pretty hard to find there. And if the shipping is of the same order of magnitude as the multimeter itself, it doesn't really worse it.

I have considered buying the EEVBlog Brymen 235, but the shipping scares me a little.

My use would be the one for typical hobbyist electronics, and I want it to be a least a bit durable as a really don't want to throw it away in 15 years.

Thank you for your replies.

Welcome to the forum.

Well you could buy the 235 from the forum's moderator Simon's shop in the UK:
https://simonselectronics.co.uk/product-category/eevblog/

[The Soulman]

Brymen is a popular choice in that price range, and you can have it shipped from Europe:

https://www.welectron.com/Handmultimeter

However, I just spotted a new lower-cost meter from Gossen Metrawatt, which might also be of interest:

https://www.reichelt.de/metraline-dm61-multimeter-digital-6600-counts-metraline-dm61-p253286.html (averaging)
https://www.reichelt.de/digital-multimeter-metraline-dm62-6600-counts-trms-metraline-dm62-p238143.html (TRMS)

Nice! I did notice the new and very affordable current clamps, but these look pretty good as well, especially if reliability and build quality is the same as anything else from metrawatt.
Made in? 

There is also a dm41 (4000 count and non trms), looks like a perfect toolbox dmm to me.

[jtruc34]

I don't know exact models but I'm betting the manufacturer begins with a 'B' and ends with 'rymen'.

You can buy them directly from brymen.eu and get three years manufacturer's warranty. What's not to like?

Yes, I just saw this website. That is pretty great, the shipping is very low (less than 10€), and, yes, three years warranty. The problem with Europe is that much of the very good deals one can find on e-bay in the US aren't such good deals anymore.

Brymen is a popular choice in that price range, and you can have it shipped from Europe:

https://www.welectron.com/Handmultimeter

However, I just spotted a new lower-cost meter from Gossen Metrawatt, which might also be of interest:

https://www.reichelt.de/metraline-dm61-multimeter-digital-6600-counts-metraline-dm61-p253286.html (averaging)
https://www.reichelt.de/digital-multimeter-metraline-dm62-6600-counts-trms-metraline-dm62-p238143.html (TRMS)

The problem with the Gossen Metrawatt is that the haven't any microamps feature. If these are the cheapest, it will definitely be out of my budget to buy a more expensive one.

I'm probably going on the 829s.

[Fungus]

I'm probably going on the 829s.

I havn't seen that model before but it looks like a very solid choice.

The spec sheet reads a lot like the 869s with fewer counts (10000 instead of 500000), but it adds a fully-automatic mode and for a lot less money. I'm almost tempted.

If only they weren't so massive.

[Welectron]

I'm probably going on the 829s.

I hadn't read up on that model before but it looks like a very solid choice.

The spec sheet reads a lot like the 869s with fewer counts (10000 instead of 500000), but it adds a fully-automatic mode and for a lot less money. I'm almost tempted.

In the price range between 110 and 150 EUR excl. VAT there are three interesting Brymen models:

• BM829s
• BM867s
• BM839

All of those feature auto ranging, True RMS up to 20KHz bandwidth, dual display with a fast bargraph and white backlight, high safety ratings and a broad range of features.
Here is a short guide:

BM829s
Spec: AC+DC TRMS, 10'000 counts resolution, 0.08% basic DCV accuracy, CAT IV 1000V safety rating, optional USB-interface
Pros: lowest price, Lo-Z mode, AutoCheck mode (automatic DCV, ACV, Ohms measurement), dual temperature measurements, non-contact EF measurement
Cons: lowest resolution of the three models
Verdict: most complete feature set at a really attractive price point

BM867s
Spec: AC+DC TRMS, 50'000 / 500'000 counts resolution, 0.03% basic DCV accuracy, CAT IV 1000V safety rating, optional USB-interface
Pros: high resolution up to 500'000 counts (DCV/DCA) and high accuracy
Cons: no temperature measurement
Verdict: highest accuracy and resolution at the best price/performance ratio if you can sacrifice the temperature measurement

BM839
Spec: AC TRMS, 20'000 counts resolution, 0.045% basic DCV accuracy, CAT III 1000V / CAT IV 600V safety rating
Pros: 4xAA batteries (easy to change), VFD (variable frequency drive) measurements
Cons: no USB interface available
Verdict: rugged meter with high accuracy, VFD measurements and easy-to-change AA batteries with long battery life


All Brymen meters come with nice PVC test leads with sharp gold plated tips as standard.
We also offer an Edition+ for most Brymen meters. The Edition+ comes with temperature-resistant and really flexible silicone test leads with screw-on banana plugs as well as a bolstered Brymen carry pouch.


Your Welectron Team

P.S.: We offer free shipping within the EU and to Switzerland.

[Fungus]

Damn, now you made me go and re-read all the specs of the meters on the Brymen site. There seem to be a lot of new ones (or at least, meters I haven't seen before).

Looking at the two cheapest 500,000 count meters: The 857 and 867, is there any compelling reason not to buy the 857s?

Yes, I know it's 'legacy' design, doesn't have dual display, has a slightly lower CAT rating, but ... the measurement abilities of the two are almost identical (if anything, the 857 is slightly more accurate), it's smaller, I kinda prefer the industrial look.

I'm not really into AC stuff so I don't care about the lack dual display.

[2N3055]

Damn, now you made me go and re-read all the specs of the meters on the Brymen site. There seem to be a lot of new ones (or at least, meters I haven't seen before).

Looking at the two cheapest 500,000 count meters: The 857 and 867, is there any compelling reason not to buy the 857s?

Yes, I know it's 'legacy' design, doesn't have dual display, has a slightly lower CAT rating, but ... the measurement abilities of the two are almost identical (if anything, the 857 is slightly more accurate), it's smaller, I kinda prefer the industrial look.

I'm not really into AC stuff so I don't care about the lack dual display.

With everything you said I don't see how you could go wrong then.
Fluke 87V is SINGLE display and nobody seem to care..

[rsjsouza]

Damn, now you made me go and re-read all the specs of the meters on the Brymen site. There seem to be a lot of new ones (or at least, meters I haven't seen before).

Looking at the two cheapest 500,000 count meters: The 857 and 867, is there any compelling reason not to buy the 857s?

Yes, I know it's 'legacy' design, doesn't have dual display, has a slightly lower CAT rating, but ... the measurement abilities of the two are almost identical (if anything, the 857 is slightly more accurate), it's smaller, I kinda prefer the industrial look.

I'm not really into AC stuff so I don't care about the lack dual display.

With everything you said I don't see how you could go wrong then.
Fluke 87V is SINGLE display and nobody seem to care..

I have a pre-production BM857 and I really love it. Sure, it does not have all the bells and whistles but it surely is a very solid meter. The capacitance is a bit on the slow side, but I like its "squaredness". I even have the rare RS232 communications cable. Mine has the horrid green backlight, but more modern versions have a nice white backlight. The 500000 count mode is great for my battery/supercap measurements. It has AC+DC, it is silent (does not beep for everything), memorizes the last selection, has V/A input alert...

Last time I checked, though, the 857's price  was on par with the 867. If you don't care for the dual display, then by all means!

[Fungus]

memorizes the last selection

Nice! I wondered if that might be missing in the old ones.

Last time I checked, though, the 857's price  was on par with the 867. If you don't care for the dual display, then by all means!

Less than 2 Euros difference in price.

[coromonadalix]

I had the 857s  (s=enhanced backlight)   made a mistake to sell it,  worked very well, rock solid, and hold better on a bench than the 86x  models

[Cnoob]

No matter which Brymen you buy, they are built to a high standard and are affordable industrial grade meters which should last you a long time.

[Fungus]

I like its "squaredness"

Yep. You'd think there'd be more of a market for making them look tough and military, not shaped like barbie dolls.

(or whatever effect it was they were trying to achieve with the modern ones  )

[joseph nicholas]

I'm pretty sure the design is modeled on the "Transformers" movie franchise.

[Fungus]

I'm pretty sure the design is modeled on the "Transformers" movie franchise.

 

[windsmurf]

I'm pretty sure the design is modeled on the "Transformers" movie franchise.

 

I thought it was built for Minecraft.

[Fungus]

I just ordered a BM857s from Welectron with their "+" package (carry case+gold plated leads) and some alligator clips.

My first "grown up" multimeter. 

[Cnoob]

I just ordered a BM857s from Welectron with their "+" package (carry case+gold plated leads) and some alligator clips.

My first "grown up" multimeter. 

About time

[rsjsouza]

I just ordered a BM857s from Welectron with their "+" package (carry case+gold plated leads) and some alligator clips.

My first "grown up" multimeter. 

About time

You finally saw the light! About time to give your AN870 a run for its money, huh?

Congratulations! You won't regret it.

[Fungus]

You finally saw the light! About time to give your AN870 a run for its money, huh?

Congratulations! You won't regret it.

I'm not sure how much it will improve my daily life but but I wanted a "reference" meter.

I figure it will last a few years so in real terms 155 Euros is only a couple of Euros/month (that's what I tell myself, anyway).

[rsjsouza]

You finally saw the light! About time to give your AN870 a run for its money, huh?

Congratulations! You won't regret it.

I'm not sure how much it will improve my daily life but but I wanted a "reference" meter.

I figure it will last a few years so in real terms 155 Euros is only a couple of Euros/month (that's what I tell myself, anyway).

Exactly. That was the reason why I got my Fluke 179 years ago. Spent quite a lot of money for it, but the payback in years of use would be completely reasonable. The thing is that I sold it a few years later to cover the expenses of the U1273A (where I obviously used the same reason).

But, before all that happened, I got the BM857 for a completely different reason: it was simply too cheap to pass ($89 in 2013 dollars).

[Fungus]

It's on the way today!

They didn't have any "Edition+" BM857s in stock at welectron but they've cobbled one together from an ordinary BM857s and a set of the fancy gold leads so I didn't have to wait.

[Fungus]

It arrived this afternoon, all the way from Germany. Thanks to Welectron for getting it here so fast.

All seems present and correct and it even came with a battery installed (is that normal or is it from welectron?)

It passes quick function tests, I'll give it a workout in the next couple of days.